Love and Sacrifice
by Gumnut
Summary: When she is worth everything. Part of the Warm Rain series. Virgil/Kayo.
1. Prologue: Made for Heavy Lifting

Title: Love and Sacrifice

Prologue: Made for Heavy Lifting

Warm Rain Series

Author: Gumnut

3 Oct – Nov 2018

Fandom: Thunderbirds Are Go 2015/ Thunderbirds TOS

Rating: Teen

Summary: When she is worth everything.

Word count: 809

Spoilers & warnings: Virgil/Kayo

Timeline: After 'Sharing the Scenery' and the events of 'Road Rash'.

Author's note: And here is finally the story of the scar Virgil has on his back mentioned in the first fic of this series and so uproarishly demanded by you wonderful people. I hope it meets expectations. Also, pieces of this fic have been posted all over the place in the last couple of months as I have been slowly piecing it all together, so apologies if you have read some of it before or it seems familiar as I've re-written sections. Also, the prologue is one of the Warm Rain shorts, so you will have read that, but please bear with me.

Author's note: Disclaimer: Mine? You've got to be kidding. Money? Don't have any, don't bother.

-o-o-o-

Prologue: Made for Heavy Lifting

 _Author's note: This was a single fic once, asked for by diamondinshadow in response to some lovely artwork by photowizard17 - My muse being what it is, wandered off a little weirdly, and at 3am, no less, but I hope you all enjoy it anyway :D Thank you all for your kind and wonderful support of my scribblings ::hugs::_

Virgil Tracy was made for heavy lifting.

He had been known to say it on occasion and he had certainly proved it on many others. Hell, she'd heard Gordon say his brother was built like a 'brick shithouse', but that was Gordon, and Gordon had issues.

Regardless of external opinion, Virgil was the physical powerhouse of International Rescue, both physically and mentally. It was a known fact.

But it had never been displayed so blatantly to Kayo until this moment.

She was dressed in loose sweats, standing in the doorway of the gym. Virgil was at the weights on the far side of the room and literally pounding through his routine.

Now this was nothing new. The man hadn't gained his physique from painting or playing the piano. There was a certain amount of training that needed to be maintained to keep his muscular tone for when it was needed out in the field.

But he didn't usually leave his shirt off.

Pumping his standard barbel, feet spread firmly, earphones in, a thin sheen of sweat…

Kayo blinked. She was being ridiculous. He was obviously shirtless because of the healing injury on his back. But…

"Enjoying the scenery?"

Kayo startled. Grandma Tracy was standing right next to her – illustrating exactly how distracted she was.

Surprise immediately turned to mortification.

"Grandma?" Was her voice a little higher than usual?

A hand landed on her shoulder. "Honey, any hot-blooded woman walking past would be distracted by that." She waved a hand in the direction of her grandson.

Kayo simply stared at her grandmother.

"What? I was a girl once, too, you know. The grey hairs are only for the respect."

Grandma looked up at her, catching her eyes and holding them for a moment. Quietly. "So, have you worked it out yet?"

A frown. "I'm sorry?"

Grandma smiled just slightly before drawing her away from the door and out of the sight of Virgil, should he look up. "Kayo, honey, you've been staring at him for weeks now. Virgil is a good man. You couldn't do better." She leant in. "Ask him."

"Ask him what?" She played it innocent, but there was a voice in the back of her mind laughing at her.

"Really?" She arched an eyebrow. "You want to play it that way?"

Kayo sighed, admitting defeat, her shoulders slumped just that fraction. "He's my brother, Grandma."

"Not really." A hand on her arm. "He's worth the risk, honey."

She opened her mouth, but nothing came out.

Grandma kissed her on the cheek and patted her on the arm. "Think about it. He'll still love you either way." A sparkle in her eye. "And I'm here if you need me. Us girls need to stick together on this island."

That brought a smile to Kayo's face. Quietly. "Yes, we do."

"Now go in there and kick his ass off those weights. The man is obsessed with getting back into the air and he's going to break himself if we're not careful."

An alarmed frown. "How long has he been at it this time?"

"Oh, since about 9am."

It was nearly lunchtime.

"Excuse me, Grandma." She was going to kick his ass alright. How many times did she have to tell him. Why were men such blockheads when it came to recovery?

She stormed into the gym. "Virgil!"

The barbel hit the floor with a resounding thud.

-o-o-o-

Sally held back a laugh. Kayo's voice was bouncing all over the gym, her ire at him risking his recovery only matched by his stumbling and guilty replies.

Virgil didn't have a hope with that girl.

Shaking her head, she made her way back into the main part of the house. Entering the comms room, she wasn't surprised to find her eldest grandson sitting at his father's desk working through reports.

Kayo's angry voice suddenly echoed across the building, followed by Virgil emitting a not-quite-squawk.

Scott winced. "She caught him, huh?"

Sally smirked. "Let's just say, I set aim and fired."

"If he doesn't stop this, I'm going to have to threaten to ground him for even longer."

"Hon, leave it to Kayo." Another smirk. "I doubt he will be doing that again."

Scott winced. "You are a cruel and evil woman, Grandma."

A shrug. "Well, he wouldn't listen to me. He wouldn't listen to you. Time for the big guns." She studied her eldest for a moment. "Fifty bucks says she asks him out before he does."

She held back another smile as Scott startled. "Grandma?!"

Really? Were all men blind or did they prefer to live in denial?

"I know it. You know it. Those two have been eyeing each other for weeks now." An arched eyebrow. "Your thoughts?"

He eyed her, his lips thinning, but curling into a smirk. Blue sparkled. "I think, Grandma, that you are on."

-o-o-o-


	2. Part One

Title: Love and Sacrifice

Part One

Warm Rain Series

Author: Gumnut

Oct – Nov 2018

Fandom: Thunderbirds Are Go 2015/ Thunderbirds TOS

Rating: Teen

Summary: When she is worth everything.

Word count: 1476

Spoilers & warnings: Virgil/Kayo

Timeline: After 'Sharing the Scenery' and the events of 'Road Rash'.

Author's note: And here is finally the story of the scar Virgil has on his back mentioned in the first fic of this series and so uproarishly demanded by you wonderful people. I hope it meets expectations. Also, pieces of this fic have been posted all over the place in the last couple of months as I have been slowly piecing it all together, so apologies if you have read some of it before or it seems familiar as I've re-written sections.

Author's note: Disclaimer: Mine? You've got to be kidding. Money? Don't have any, don't bother.

"Virgil!"

That voice, that sharp, crap, what the hell had he done?

He dropped the barbel, narrowly missing his feet.

It wasn't out of guilt. No, it wasn't.

Yes, it was.

Kayo was charging towards him across the gym. The glare on her face was enough to strip off a layer of skin.

Shirtless, goose-pimples radiated out across his chest, sweat cooling now he had stopped moving. His diaphragm was still heaving from his exertions, the exercise setting his blood running high

"What the hell do you think you are doing?!"

Momentarily stuck on the decision of whether speaking or not speaking would be the less death-causing option, he didn't respond fast enough and defaulted to the latter.

"Do you have any idea what it was like to watch you tumble from that train?"

His eyes widened. Again his speech function failed to boot. God, her eyes were gorgeous.

"You were lucky you weren't killed! Your brother and I had to pick you off the road. I thought…" She swallowed. "Why are you pushing so hard? Do you want to relapse? Do you want to put us through more worry and pain?"

"Uh."

She stalked up into his personal space and shoved a finger into the middle of his chest. "Virgil Tracy, you do not have the right!" Her fingernail was sharp and he yelped, staggering backwards.

"Kayo-"

"Do you have any idea what you put me through? Do you?"

Virgil froze. Kayo didn't…

She glared up at him and he was shocked to see her eyes glistening in the overhead fluorescents. God.

"I'm-"

"Don't you dare say you're sorry." It came from deep in her throat. The passion in her eyes screamed at him.

She was so close. So angry.

So beautiful.

He leant in and captured her lips with his own. The moment froze as she startled, her hands flying up to his shoulders.

But she didn't push him away.

Their kiss deepened. Her tongue brushed against his lips, parting them.

And she was in his arms. God, so beautiful.

Time hung. And then it restarted again as she gently pulled away.

Staring up at him.

He found his voice, tight and throaty. "Kayo?"

Quietly. "Virgil. Stop overdoing it." And she stepped back, her eyes trailing up and down his perspiring body. She swallowed, her stance more uncertain than he had ever seen her. Her eyes caught his once more.

And she turned and left, stalking around the gym equipment, bee-lining for the door.

The room fell quiet.

Sweat dried on his skin and he shivered.

-o-o-o-

He didn't see her after that.

He was left wondering if he had permanently damaged their relationship, if he had ruined what little chance he had.

Part of him desperately wanted to see her, to touch her again. The rest of him was terrified what would happen if he did.

Caught in limbo.

And she left.

Without saying goodbye.

He discovered it by accident, walking through the comms room. Scott had been talking to Gordon about a possible rescue in the Philippines. He mentioned Kayo would be unavailable.

Virgil froze.

"What did you say?"

"Huh?" Scott looked tired and worried.

"About Kayo."

"Oh, she was called out on a mission by the GDF. Left this morning."

"Where?" He could be curious, couldn't he?

"Indonesia. Apparently, some terrorists have holed up on one of the smaller islands. Colonel Casey thought Kayo had some expertise that could help."

"Oh."

Scott frowned. "Virg, you okay?"

"I'm fine."

His brother's frown didn't fade. "How's the back?"

"Fine."

"The knee?"

"Fine."

Scott's lips thinned and Gordon snorted. "Way to go on the info sharing there, bro."

Virgil sighed. "I am fine. Quit bugging me." And he left the room.

-o-o-o-

Scott stared after his brother. Virgil's mood had been fragile since Kayo had cornered him two days ago. He wondered exactly what had happened between the two of them. It was very unlike Virgil to be so unpredictable in reaction. Usually calm and steadfast, his brother was now snappy and keeping to himself more often than not.

But Virgil, being Virgil, it would surface at some point. Scott just needed to make sure he was at the right place at the right time to be there for his brother.

So, he let it go.

Two more days passed and his brother kept quiet, only sniping when prodded. Alan was avoiding Virgil like he always did on the rare occasion the bigger man went bear. Gordon being Gordon manifested his concern by poking that bear, trying to find out what was wrong. This usually resulted in said bear snarling and leaving the room.

John was safe 23,000 kilometres away and knew it.

And that left Scott, scrambling for strategies to corner his brother and find out why he was hurting.

After all a snarling Virgil was a rarity and it usually meant something was seriously wrong.

But he didn't get the chance. Halfway through the third day, he found Virgil sitting in the comms room with his sketch pad. It was clear the man was having little success in his endeavours, as screwed up paper lay everywhere. Scott approached his brother, but was interrupted by John flaring into existence in the middle of the room.

"Guys, we have a situation."

Scott sighed. "Go ahead, Thunderbird Five."

"I have intercepted a transmission to the GDF. It appears to be a combination of a threat and a ransom demand."

"What?"

John looked almost frightened, an expression so unfamiliar on his calm brother's face to be terrifying. "It's Kayo. She's been captured."

There was the clatter of a sketchbook falling to the floor.

Scott's throat was suddenly tight. "Explain, Thunderbird Five." Keep it professional.

The space monitor's eyes were darting between those of his eldest brothers. "Sorry, guys, this isn't pleasant." And the display switched to the recording.

It was Kayo, out of uniform, bound to a chair, her face sporting bruises. A male voice was spouting demands in another language. A translation was appearing at the bottom of the display, no doubt John at work, something about money, freedom and the threat from the GDF.

Scott only had eyes for the anger in his sister's. Their green, despite one of them being almost swollen shut, screamed fury and vengeance.

The recording waffled on some more about the evil of the GDF. Then a fist flew into the view and hit his sister.

Scott flinched. There was a muffled something to his right, and the recording was yelling. Kayo spat blood at the camera, a drop or two landing on the lens. The holographic spatter hovered in the air in front of them.

"Deliver or she dies."

And it cut off.

The room was suddenly silent.

A sharp retort echoed as a pencil snapped in two.

Scott flinched.

As John reappeared, Scott wanted answers. "Do you have her location?"

His brother was troubled. "Not yet, but I will. Eos is trawling the network. Thunderbird Shadow is still at the base in Jakarta. She must have taken alternative transport. She is not wearing her uniform so I have no signal from that. The fact that I cannot locate her wrist comm or her locator has me concerned. I suspect her captors know more than they are letting on. I will let you know more as we find out." John hesitated, his eyes once again bouncing between both of his older brothers. "I'm sorry."

And he cut transmission.

Scott swallowed his fury. The harsh breathing to his right told him that this time, he had to be the calm one.

A breath and he turned to face Virgil.

His brother was pale and his body was almost vibrating with the fear and the anger in his eyes. The broken pencil lay discarded at his feet.

"Virg?"

The younger man flinched, his eyes going wide for just a moment before the more familiar calm settled over his features. It settled cold, control hiding the emotions no doubt roiling below the surface. It was almost chilling to watch.

Brown eyes, usually warm with affection, turned on him as cold as tundra. A rasp. "What are we going to do?"

Scott's lips thinned. "We need further information. We need to give John and Eos the time to locate her."

"Time." It was a snarl. "They're hurting her, Scott."

Quietly, with his hands held up as if to calm a storm. "I know. John is doing his best. The GDF-"

"The GDF! You have got to be kidding!"

"Virgil-"

His brother threw up his hands. "I can't..." And he was shaking his head. "Just..." Emotion boiled and Virgil turned away. "I'll be in the hanger. Keep me apprised."

Heavy boots hurried from the room, and Scott was left staring at where his brother had been.

The broken pencil screamed at him.

-o-o-o-


	3. Part Two

Title: Love and Sacrifice

Part Two

Warm Rain Series

Author: Gumnut

Oct – Nov 2018

Fandom: Thunderbirds Are Go 2015/ Thunderbirds TOS

Rating: Teen

Summary: When she is worth everything.

Word count: 1845

Spoilers & warnings: Virgil/Kayo

Timeline: After 'Sharing the Scenery' and the events of 'Road Rash'.

Author's note: And here is finally the story of the scar Virgil has on his back mentioned in the first fic of this series and so uproarishly demanded by you wonderful people. I hope it meets expectations. Also, pieces of this fic have been posted all over the place in the last couple of months as I have been slowly piecing it all together, so apologies if you have read some of it before or it seems familiar as I've re-written sections.

Author's note: Disclaimer: Mine? You've got to be kidding. Money? Don't have any, don't bother.

-o-o-o-

Gordon had the music up loud.

Doing maintenance on his baby was important, but sometimes it just bored his brain into leaking out his nostrils and music always made everything better.

Especially when it vibrated the module walls.

The fact he managed to hear a crash over the blaring classic AC/DC was a sign of exactly how loud it had been.

A frown and he killed the volume.

Metal hitting concrete was suddenly followed by breaking glass.

What the hell?!

Dropping the wrench, Gordon slipped out of Module Four and crept in the direction of the cacophony. Thunderbird Two towered green over him, as he stepped quietly around her.

Virgil's workshop, usually a picture-perfect poster of order and precision, had tools scattered out the door. The window between the hanger and the workshop lay in shards on the concrete.

There was a yell and a single spanner flew out the door, across the hanger and clattered harmlessly against Thunderbird Two's hull before it too hit the concrete. Another almighty crash had Gordon hurrying over to peer through the broken window.

Two of Virgil's precious metal tool chests were on their sides, their orderly tools scattered across the floor. One wall had a massive dent in it where something heavy had obviously impacted. Half the worktops had been cleared, forcibly, work in progress all over the floor, one of them being what Gordon knew to be Virgil's latest pet project.

Who would do this to his brother's workshop?

His question was answered almost immediately as his second eldest brother stood up from behind one of the workbenches and tossed the remains of another project at the wall beside Gordon.

Shit!

He ducked as bits of metal ricocheted off the drywall above him. "Virgil, what the hell?"

His brother's head shot up, and to Gordon's horror, he found him teary and red-eyed. "Go away."

"What's wrong?" Gordon's heart was in his left shoe. Something horrible had to have happened. Virgil was never violent. Never. Well, he had heard rumours about what had happened when he had his hydrofoil accident all those years ago, but part of him hadn't believed Alan.

A glance at the half-destroyed workshop was supporting his younger brother's arguments.

"Virg-"

"Get out!"

The anger, the out of character fury was so inconsistent with his calm brother, Gordon couldn't do anything but what he was told.

He stepped back and away, hiding himself from Virgil's direct line of sight and hit his comms.

"Scott, what the hell is going on?"

Another unidentifiable tool flew past and hit his brother's 'bird. Gordon couldn't help but flinch.

"Gordon, get up here. We have a situation." Scott's voice was horribly tense.

"But Virgil-"

That voice fell hoarse and quiet. "Leave him be."

Gordon frowned. "Are you sure? He's destroying his workshop."

"Ah, not the workshop. Shit."

"Uh, yeah."

A pained sigh. "Leave him to me. You need to get up here."

"Okay." And his own voice was growing faint. What the hell had happened? The sounds coming from the workshop...he peered around the corner. Virgil was hunched over one of the benches, his shoulders shaking. Gordon's gut twisted as he hid back around the corner, his voice barely a whisper. "But you need to get down here, Scott. Now."

"I know." And his brother killed the connection.

There was another yell and something else made of glass shattered in the room beyond. It was followed by a sob.

Gordon found himself holding back one of his own. Stepping away, horror and dread in his heart. He had to find out what had happened, but for it to affect Virgil like this...

He was terrified.

-o-o-o-

Scott made his way down to the hanger with dread in his heart. He knew Virgil was in love with Kayo. He knew that he had been unhappy since she left. Something had happened between them, he didn't know what, but whatever it was, it exacerbated the current situation. Gordon had been pale as he passed him on the stairs, his worry blatant.

As Scott entered Thunderbird Two's hanger, he understood why.

Oh, Virgil.

His brother was trudging through glass, lugging equipment, heading towards Module Two. And immediately, Scott knew what his brother was going to do.

"Virgil!"

His brother paused his stride, but he didn't turn in Scott's direction.

"Has John found her yet?"

Scott bit the inside of his cheek. "No, he is still looking."

Virgil resumed dragging equipment into the module bay.

"Virgil! Please, I can't let you go."

His brother didn't stop moving. "You can't stop me."

Scott strode across the hanger, ignoring the destruction in the direction of his brother's workshop, and grabbed his brother from behind. "Virgil!"

He was pushed away.

"Kayo knows what she is doing!"

That did it. Virgil turned around.

The man looked horrible. His eyes were red rimmed and he had a small cut on one cheek. His voice was hoarse. "She was beaten and tied to a chair. What exactly do you think she is doing?"

Scott held up his hands. "Kayo has trained with Penny and the GDF. She knows how to combat a situation such as this." And you don't. It echoed around the hanger without being said.

"I can't leave her there."

And that cut to the core of the matter.

"We don't even know where she is yet, Virgil. Please..." Please wait. Give me a chance to support you in this.

"This is Kayo. I can't...she..."

Scott tentatively reached out and placed a hand on his brother's shoulder. He found it trembling just slightly. Virgil looked up at him and just for a moment, a horrible vulnerability surfaced in those brown eyes, worry, fear and a soul-stealing terror, but a blink, and it was swallowed by that same control that had chilled Scott to the bone earlier.

"I'll find her." Virgil turned away and resumed dragging the equipment across the bay.

"How?" Scott followed him, putting himself in the way, stopping his brother simply by being there. When Virgil refused to answer, Scott grabbed him by both shoulders and brought him to a halt. "Please, Virgil, I can't lose you too." His voice broke.

"Too?" The sudden horror in his brother's eyes cut him to the quick. "What are you trying to say, Scott?

"Nothing! Virg, please don't rush off like this. They are terrorists."

"And that is why I have to go!"

"And what do you think you can do?"

"What I always do! Save lives!"

"You're not trained for this, Virgil."

His brother looked away. "I don't need to be. All I need to do is get her out of there."

Scott opened his mouth to retort, but he was interrupted.

"Thunderbird Five to base. We've found her." John's voice echoed from Scott's comms and bounced around the hanger.

A fire lit in Virgil's eyes.

There was going to be no stopping him.

Oh yes, he could deny him access to Thunderbird Two, he could even physically restrain him, with help from a brother or three.

But no, there was going to be no stopping him.

At John's words, he stepped in front of his brother. "Virg, we do this together or not at all." He pinned him with his eyes. "I can't let you go alone."

There was no mistaking the conflict in Virgil's eyes and it hurt to see it.

"Trust me, please." And their eyes locked. Scott knew what he was asking and god forbid if their positions were ever reversed, he knew how hard it would be to give up control.

Virgil's voice was rough. "I trust you, Scott. Always have." He looked down, his shoulders slumping just a little, before he looked up yet again. "We have to get her out of there."

"We will." It would be one hell of an international incident, but screw it. The world owed them one. "Now we go upstairs and work out exactly what we are going to do. No running off on your own." He gripped his brother's arms. "Promise me."

It took a moment, but his brother managed a single nod.

"C'mon." And he took his arm and led him towards the stairs. "Let's do this."

-o-o-o-

Gordon's face was pale when they reached the comms room. Alan was absent having flown Brains to the mainland that morning. There was no doubt John had called them back, but they weren't here now.

It was probably for the best.

Gordon's expression of concern the moment he set eyes on Virgil, could only be ignored to a point.

But as he stood in front of John's hologram, it was with Scott on his right and Gordon on his left, and he straightened his posture, drawing strength from his brothers' presence.

John spared him a worried glance, not unlike Gordon's, but dove into the topic regardless.

"She's being held in an abandoned palm plantation on one of the smaller islands north of Java." A holographic map appeared momentarily, zooming in to the suspect island, down to the level where a series of ramshackle buildings scattered over a couple of hectares. A single silver icon flashed in the centre of the largest building.

Virgil stared at it.

"I've been able to hack their security system." His brother fiddled with a control and a video image appeared next to the map.

Virgil tensed and flinched as a hand gently caught his wrist. Scott offering just that touch of comfort mixed with restraint.

Kayo.

Her eyes were closed, her face etched with pain, and piebald with bruising. One eye couldn't open and her lip was split enough to leave smudges of blood across her mouth where she had been hit.

A man was talking to her, demanding something, but they had no sound and his back was to the camera.

All four of them flinched as he suddenly kicked their sister in the shin, startling her.

The hand on Virgil's wrist tightened as he took a step forward.

Kayo.

And Scott was saying something.

"We go in hard and fast. Thunderbird One and Two are not equipped for stealth. Gordon, you will take Thunderbird S and while Virgil and I provide distraction and support, you will get her out."

"FAB."

And Virgil was suddenly reminded of the strength of the two military men beside him.

"Deploy camo and land TBS here, enter through the windows. The building is minimally populated and Virg and I will aim to empty it further. Your extraction route should back track your entrance route. If that is not viable, we'll take you out through the roof. John, you're on overwatch." Scott took in a breath. "Guys, I know this isn't our usual method of operation, but these are unusual circumstances. They've taken one of ours and quite frankly, I don't trust the GDF to act fast enough, so that leaves us." The hand on Virgil's wrist squeezed gently.

The video feed cut out at a signal from Scott and Virgil was left staring at the blinking icon.

Hang on, Kay, we're coming.

-o-o-o-


	4. Part Three

Title: Love and Sacrifice

Part Three

Warm Rain Series

Author: Gumnut

Oct – Nov 2018

Fandom: Thunderbirds Are Go 2015/ Thunderbirds TOS

Rating: Teen

Summary: When she is worth everything.

Word count: 1535

Spoilers & warnings: Virgil/Kayo

Timeline: After 'Sharing the Scenery' and the events of 'Road Rash'.

Author's note: And here is finally the story of the scar Virgil has on his back mentioned in the first fic of this series and so uproarishly demanded by you wonderful people. I hope it meets expectations. Also, pieces of this fic have been posted all over the place in the last couple of months as I have been slowly piecing it all together, so apologies if you have read some of it before or it seems familiar as I've re-written sections.

Author's note: Disclaimer: Mine? You've got to be kidding. Money? Don't have any, don't bother.

-o-o-o-

Virgil operated like a possessed automaton.

Despite the situation, Gordon found it creepy. His brother said nothing more than was absolutely necessary, he operated smoothly, fast and efficient.

But there was something missing, as if he had switched off part of himself to function.

He didn't have time to speak to Scott, but he knew something was wrong beyond their current situation, something serious and it was related to Kayo.

The flight to Jakarta was deadly quiet.

Thunderbird S was a familiar yet uncomfortable sight. The lack of his sister's presence marked even more by her empty 'bird.

Virgil, after helping Gordon with pre-flight, reached out and touched her fuselage with his fingers. The expression on his face was lost.

Gordon placed a hand on his brother's shoulder. "We'll get her out, Virgil. We will."

Virgil didn't look at him, his voice rough. "Yes, we will." He let his hand drop to his side. He finally turned to Gordon, his expression intense. "Fly safe." And he turned back to his 'bird, the automaton well in control.

-o-o-o-

Thunderbirds One and Two hit the plantation's airspace loud and hard. They came in from opposite directions, their mere presence shaking the palm trees and rattling windows. The buildings were old and more than one window fell from its pane.

John had reported no anti-aircraft munitions on the site. That didn't stop the rough dressed inhabitants from shooting their guns at the 'birds. The chances of damage were small, but Virgil grit his teeth anyway.

Shortly after One and Two's entrance, S ghosted in under their radar, the ripple of her camouflage barely noticeable even to the brothers.

She landed beside the main building, Gordon's figure seen appearing from nowhere and dashing into the structure.

"I'm in."

And Virgil pulled the roof off one of the outer buildings.

Scott did the same on the other side of the property.

And then Virgil started chopping up an empty storage barn with his laser.

The whole plantation was in an uproar, armed men running, firing at the Thunderbirds. There was a lot of yelling.

Virgil cared for none of it.

Kayo was in the central building and everything in his body ached to get to her. To get her out.

"Uh, Thunderbird One? These aren't terrorists." Gordon's voice was worried.

"What?" Scott echoed Virgil.

"Well, they are, but this is the Hood. I've seen several of his stupid henchmen already."

Virgil's blood ran cold. Her uncle, the bastard who had taken so much from them already.

Thunderbird Two spun on her axis and started carving up another building, the red of her cutting laser violent in the sunlight.

It was taking too long.

"Gordon, what's the hold up?"

There was a pause, but then his younger brother answered, a little out of breath. "Having some difficulty getting to her. I think we've lost what little surprise we had. The bastard knows us too-" There was a gasp over the line and a groan.

"Gordon!"

No answer.

"Scott!"

"Stay in position, Virgil."

Scott!"

"No!"

Then another signal came in. "Oh my, it is International Rescue to the rescue. Thank you so much for delivering your equipment to me." A smarmy chuckle. "And now I have two operatives to add to my collection. Though I would like a couple more. After all, it is good policy to collect them all."

Virgil's knuckles clenched white on the steering yoke. "Scott, please."

His brother didn't answer immediately, and it gave him hope.

"Go in through the roof. Two has the equipment. Make it fast."

"FAB."

Thunderbird Two spun, her VTOL raking the air. Her laser struck out again, slicing a decent sized hole in the roof of the main building, and cutting all the way through the floors to the point where Kayo's signal...he blinked...and now Gordon's icon flickered on his hologram.

Thunderbird One darted around him, causing a moat of havoc to prevent any approach.

Setting his 'bird to remote and auto, Virgil scrambled down to the bay and lowered himself and the rescue rig through the hole in the roof. The winch ran hot as he lowered it faster than he ever had.

She was down there. Gordon was down there.

The rig hit a solid surface with a clunk.

In darkness.

Flicking on his shoulder lamp he illuminated the room.

Kayo was tied to a pole at one end.

Her open eye was wide and frightened in the stark light. She shook her head violently, the gag in her mouth muffling whatever it was she was trying to say.

"Well, well, well. Operative number three has arrived." The voice came from above, in the darkness. Virgil looked up, directing the light towards the voice. The Hood stood on some kind of mezzanine high above.

With a gun aimed directly at Virgil.

"Which one are you? Pilot of Thunderbird Two perhaps? Vincent? Vernon?" A smirk. "Virgil Tracy."

Virgil flicked his light to his cutting laser, aimed, and fired.

In the retina induced afterimage there was a yelp and the sound of a gun clattering to the floor somewhere near him in the darkness.

He took the opportunity and moved.

Setting his lamp on dim, enough to see, but not blind, he hurried over to Kayo and began tackling the knots holding her hands to the pole.

-o-o-o-

She heard him before she saw him. She could hear the familiar roar of Thunderbird Two far overhead and she greeted it with both hope and fear. A moment later, she was blinded by the red beam of a cutting laser slicing into the building.

Plasterboard and roofing fell with a crash and a cloud of dust. A soft circle of light lit the floor.

Followed by the rescue rig.

Virgil.

As always, the name meant safety.

But _he_ wasn't safe here.

She knew her uncle was here somewhere. There was an overhead ledge or mezzanine to this room. She couldn't see him, but she knew he was there.

Waiting.

Please, Virgil, no.

The gag prevented her from saying anything intelligible, so she was reduced to moaning at him and shaking her head as his lamp light landed on her.

At the sound of her uncle's voice, she thought that this was it, she was going to see her brother shot in front of her. She screamed into the gag.

But there was another bright slice of red, a yelp, the clatter of a dropped weapon, and he was there, his ever-familiar aftershave in her nostrils as he leant around her, grabbing at her bound hands.

"Hey, Kay." His voice was a whisper, but so Virgil it hurt.

"Move away." And the bastard had recovered himself somewhere above them in the darkness. She yelled into her gag again.

Her brother kept pulling at her bonds.

A gun fired and Virgil flinched towards her, a gasp forced from him.

Virgil!

But then his eyes, half in shadow latched onto hers and he continued to pull at the knots. "We have to go."

The gun fired again, and this time she felt it impact his body. He shuddered, stumbling forward a step into her space. He almost fell, his groan hot on her cheek.

But her hands were free.

She steadied him, and dove for the gun.

She located the shadow of her uncle and, drawing a calming breath...fired.

He dropped without a word, the only sound that of his body hitting the floor.

It ends here, Uncle. No more.

She turned back to Virgil, only to find him gone.

"Gordon?" His voice was almost a whisper, his dim lamp staggering off to the right.

She followed him. "Virgil?"

"Gordon is here." And his lamp brightened as he searched, moments later landing on his little brother, limp and discarded in the corner of the room.

Kayo drew in a sharp breath at the sight of the unconscious aquanaut, limping over to him to assess his condition. "He's out cold."

"John?" Virgil's voice was shaky.

"Virgil, what happened? You're injured."

"Gordon? Vitals?"

"Unconscious but all signs are that he is stable. You are not."

And as if to illustrate his brother's comment, Virgil began to tip sideways, stumbling to right himself. "We need to get out of here." There was the sound of feet running in the hallways outside the room. "Hurry."

Kayo grabbed Gordon, staggering under his weight until she could get him into a proper hold. Her abused body complained extensively, but she ignored it.

Virgil stumbled towards the rescue rig, clinging to it for support and accessing his wrist remote. Kayo deposited Gordon in one of the harnesses and secured him before turning to her rescuer. "Come and sit down."

He looked as if to protest, but yet another waver threatened to take his feet from under him, so he obeyed, letting her hold his arm as he lowered himself painfully into the harness beside her.

For a moment she thought he might pass out, but his eyes latched onto hers before he activated the winch to recall.

She paid no attention to the body on the mezzanine as they rose through the ceiling.

He had made his choice.

And she had made hers.

-o-o-o-


	5. Part Four

Title: Love and Sacrifice

Part Three

Warm Rain Series

Prologue & Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Author: Gumnut

Oct – Dec 2018

Fandom: Thunderbirds Are Go 2015/ Thunderbirds TOS

Rating: Teen

Summary: When she is worth everything.

Word count: 3086

Spoilers & warnings: Virgil/Kayo

Timeline: After 'Sharing the Scenery' and the events of 'Road Rash'.

Author's note: And here is finally the story of the scar Virgil has on his back mentioned in the first fic of this series and so uproarishly demanded by you wonderful people. I hope it meets expectations. Also, pieces of this fic have been posted all over the place in the last couple of months as I have been slowly piecing it all together, so apologies if you have read some of it before or it seems familiar as I've re-written sections.

Author's note: Disclaimer: Mine? You've got to be kidding. Money? Don't have any, don't bother.

-o-o-o-

"Thunderbird One, we are clear of the building. Both Gordon and Virgil are aboard. Advise we leave the danger zone."

Kayo's voice was music to his ears.

"FAB, Thunderbird Two." He detached his grapple from the latest piece of masonry he had disassembled, and spun his 'bird on her axis. TB2 was rising on her VTOL above the main building.

"Thunderbird Five, do you have Thunderbird Shadow?"

John's clear, calm voice answered in the affirmative, and the ghost rose from the ground and followed her sisters. "Scott, you are needed on Thunderbird Two. Gordon is unconscious and Virgil is seriously injured."

Before he could react, his sister's voice broke through, much less calm than before. "Scott, I need help. Virgil-" A pause. "Please hurry."

A breathless FAB and he was moving. Aligning his 'bird with his brother's and slaving her to Thunderbird Five with her sister, he jetpacked across to TB2's overhead hatch. John, the master of multitasking, let him in.

Thunderbird Two's cockpit was empty, her control slaved to remote auto. At John's prompt, he hurried down to the module bay.

The smell of burnt fabric hung in the air.

A groan of pain, a whispered 'sorry', and Scott made it around the rescue rig to find Virgil kneeling on the deck, leaning his chest and arms against the rig as his sister used a laser cutter to remove the back of his uniform.

His baldric lay discarded beside him. Virgil glanced up at him only to grimace as Kayo pulled away more cloth from his skin. "Check, Gordon." His brother's voice was tight with pain.

His younger brother was still strapped to the rescue rig. Scott assessed him quickly, all his vitals checked out. A lump on the back of his head the likely cause of his unconsciousness, but Gordon began to stir at his touch.

"Gordon?"

His little brother groaned. "Augh."

"You with us?"

"I wish I wasn't." A hand rose to his head. "Who hit me?"

Scott opened his mouth to answer, but was interrupted by Kayo. "Virgil?!"

And his dark-haired brother was sliding towards the deck.

Scott slid to his knees and caught him, only then catching sight of how much blood had soaked into the remains of his undershirt and uniform. His brother was weakly attempting to take his own weight, but failing, one arm refusing to respond properly, the other scrabbling at Scott's chest. "Check Kayo." It was a moaned whisper as Scott brought his brother's head to rest on his shoulder.

Scott shot his sister a concerned look.

"I'm fine and not the priority. You have two bullets in you, Virgil." And she was suddenly angry under her bruises. It washed away the fear in her eyes. As she removed the last of the blood-soaked material, Virgil groaned, flinching in his grip, and the two neat holes in his brother's muscular back were lit up by the overhead lighting.

One in his left shoulder.

The other on his lower right side.

Kayo didn't hesitate. She handed Scott a wad of dressing indicating he should take care of the upper wound while she grabbed some dressing of her own and applied pressure to his lower back.

Virgil cried out, his body tightening up against Scott, but Kayo was merciless, her efficient hands binding the dressing under pressure in an attempt to stop the bleeding.

Scott grit his teeth and reached to do the same with the shoulder wound, steeling himself, but suddenly Gordon was there, taking the wadding from his fingers and pressing it to his brother's back.

Virgil groaned into Scott's shoulder, the grip on his arm tightening. Gordon worked as quickly as his sister, binding the wound as firmly as possible. "Sorry, bro." His voice was parched and rough, his expression grey.

Virgil was trembling. But his concern still lay with his sister. "Scott, check Kayo. Please." It was muffled against his uniform and barely whispered, but they all heard it.

The expression on Kayo's face threatened anyone who even attempted to look at her, but Scott felt Virgil struggling to push himself upright to do the deed himself. The man wouldn't rest until he knew she was okay.

He wasn't willing to let go of Virgil himself. He looked up at Gordon, visually gauging the younger man as best he could. "Gordon, assess Kayo's injuries." Scott turned to his sister, his expression attempting to convey his reasoning, indicating his prone brother's concern.

Her bottom lip cracked a little as she glared at him, but stood so Gordon didn't have to bend down. The aquanaut looked her over quickly, but professionally. "She's only sporting bruises, bro." Gordon caught her eye as his fingers probed her ribs. Scott saw her flinch, but Virgil was in no position to see anything.

Scott would make sure she was seen to as soon as possible. "Kayo is okay, Virgil. She's safe."

"Thank you." And Scott had to tighten his grip as his brother slumped in his arms, not quite unconscious, but teetering, his breathing harsh against his ear. "Thank you."

-o-o-o-

They made for the Royal Darwin Hospital at the top end of Australia. Thunderbird Two fitting nicely on their specialised helipad. John flew TB1 and Shadow to the nearby GDF base and had them secured.

It wasn't the first time they had ended up here. In fact, it wasn't even the first time Virgil had ended up here.

His brother was rushed off to surgery and Scott had the job of escorting Gordon and Kayo to the emergency department to get them checked out.

All of them were quiet. No one was speaking.

Scott wanted to know how his brother had been shot. What had happened in there? But Kayo was greying by the minute. By the time they entered the hospital, he had managed to wrap an arm around her shoulders to support her. The fact she didn't protest or resist had him even more concerned, if not alarmed.

When they finally were shown to an examination cubicle. All three of them crowded in together.

"Is anyone going to tell me how Virgil got himself shot?" Apparently, Gordon had no qualms about when to ask questions.

"My uncle shot him."

Four simple words, said plainly.

"The Hood?!" Gordon again managed to speak before Scott.

"Virgil..." She drifted for a moment, her brow furrowing. "Virgil untied me. My uncle shot him. So, I shot my uncle."

Scott's eyes widened.

Kayo stared him square in the eye. "He won't be hurting us anymore."

He reached out to touch her, but she flinched away. Scott opened his mouth to ask, but the doctor and a nurse bustled in and the moment was lost.

But the expression in his sister's eye said it all.

The Hood made his choice.

He should never have hurt Virgil.

-o-o-o-

They admitted both Kayo and Gordon for observation. The latter had started having dizzy spells, so a delayed concussion was suspected. Gordon complained accordingly.

Kayo went without protest. Her ribs were bruised as well as the rest of her, thanks to one of her uncle's overzealous henchmen.

As for Virgil it went without saying that he was staying. They pulled out the two bullets, one of which had chipped his left scapula, and the other had perforated his large intestine causing all kinds of nastiness. It was touch and go there for a while and Scott found himself sitting beside his brother's bed just holding his hand.

Kayo was like a ghost, appearing one moment, gone the next. She seemed to want to be with Virgil, but ever so hesitant. He couldn't work out why.

So after about the tenth time she drifted in and out, Scott followed her, leaving a sleeping Virgil to himself for a moment.

-o-o-o-

"How could you let him do that?"

The question was a shouted whisper.

Virgil shifted where he lay and immediately regretted it. Pain shot up through his back from two distinct points, throbbing into both his shoulder and his gut. Even with the fog in his brain, the message got through very clearly. Don't move.

"It was a tactical decision."

"No, it was a stupid decision. He should never have even been in the danger zone. It was a hostage situation with hostiles. Virgil is not military, he did not belong there."

"He got you out."

"He nearly got himself killed! You should have waited for the GDF."

"I had no choice!"

"Of course, you had a choice. Are you our commander or not?"

"You think this lies under the provision of International Rescue? Are you blind, Kayo?"

"Excuse me?"

"If I hadn't gone with him, he would have gone alone. There was no way in hell I could stop him. I know. I tried! The man loves you."

Virgil blinked, but it was ever so slowly.

"Scott?" The woman's voice quavered just a little.

"No, you don't get to play dumb on this. I know you know it."

"That is none of your business."

"None of my…Are you kidding me?! He's my brother, you're my sister. He is lying there with two bullet holes in him. You're standing here accusing me of not preventing him from standing between you and the gun. Kayo, there is no way in hell he would do any different whether you are his sister or his prospective wife. This is Virgil we are talking about!" There was silence for a moment, punctuated only by the beeping of the machine telling him he was still alive. "You know, as much as I do, that Virgil will give everything, for all of us, but particularly for you."

"So what do you expect me to do about it?"

"Do about it? Nothing. That is not my prerogative. But I will ask you one thing. What would you have done if your positions had been reversed? Think about it, Kayo. Perhaps you will find your answers there."

Footsteps walked away.

Virgil blinked again, this time it was harder to open his eyes and they shut almost immediately.

He drifted off to the sound of a woman crying.

-o-o-o-

"What the hell were you thinking?"

Scott stared at Colonel Casey and bit back his caustic reply. "Colonel, they had Kayo."

"And that gives you the right to cross international borders and perform a military strike on civilians?!"

"They were terrorists, Colonel! The Hood amongst them."

"The GDF allows International Rescue to operate because you are neutral and of worldwide benefit, Scott. Aligning yourself for or against any party threatens that neutrality, your safety, and puts the GDF in a difficult situation. You operate military grade equipment with no governance, you could easily be branded a terrorist organisation yourself."

Scott bristled. "We have the right to defend ourselves."

"You have the right to call the GDF who have the political savvy to combat this legally!"

"There wasn't time! She was being tortured."

Casey sighed. "I know, and I'm sorry. I should never have let her go in, but this can never happen again, Scott."

"Then perhaps we should reconsider whether Kayo should be so easily available to the GDF's whims."

Her lips thinned and he knew he had scored his point. It had become far too an easy option for the GDF to task IR's resources for their own purposes of late. Perhaps it was time to draw a line.

"Perhaps." Her dark eyes were calculating. "How is she?"

Scott sighed. "Not happy. We got her out, but we sustained injuries."

Casey visibly started. "Who?"

"Gordon was attacked and has a concussion. Virgil was shot twice in the back." He was blunt. He wasn't in the mood for sugar-coating anything.

The Colonel vanished for a moment to be replaced with the Godmother he had known from his childhood. "My god, Scott."

"All three IR operatives will recover. Though you should be aware that we will be down on manpower for some time." He looked away from his wrist comm for a moment, lips thinning. Screw it. "International Rescue out." And he cut the signal, leaning back on the building behind him, rubbing his face with his hands. The sun taunted him, flashing through his closed eyelids, the distant sounds of people walking through the hospital grounds. The breeze rustled leaves.

Damn.

-o-o-o-

Virgil demanded to go home. The moment he awoke fully and was confident there were no more chunks of lead in his system, he demanded he be allowed to return to Tracy Island.

Scott said no.

He had even yelled at him.

But goddamnit, he wanted to go home.

"Hey, bro."

Virgil looked up sleepily to see Gordon beside his bed. "Hey."

"I hear you've been kicking up a storm."

"Wanna go home." And his blink was heavy.

"Hardly looks like you can stay awake, much less go anywhere."

"Have to go home."

"Why."

"Safe."

"You're safe here, Virgil."

"Not me." And his eyelids were so damn heavy. "Kay."

"Hah, have you seen our sister lately? She's threatened several nurses to the point they will no longer attend her. They wanted to kick her out of the hospital. Kayo is fully capable of looking after herself."

"Got hurt."

A hand landed on his uninjured shoulder. "Bro, you were hurt more than any of us. You need time. You are safe, Kayo's safe. Give yourself a chance to heal."

"Wanna go home."

The hand squeezed gently. "You will, Virgil, you will."

But the medication swept it all away and oblivion claimed him yet again.

-o-o-o-

"Report."

Scott's tone was firm, but his expression was little more than a concerned older brother. Kayo shifted from one foot to the other under his gaze anyway.

By nearly a week, her face was finally starting to return to a more functional state. Bruises still mottled her skin, but much of the swelling had gone down, allowing her to express herself far more clearly. Her ribs still ached, but she ignored them.

It was the ache in her heart that hurt the most.

"Official networks have identified the Hood as a victim of assassination. They have romanticised the whole affair. I have no doubt his cronies hate us even more." She swallowed. "Rumour has it that it was Virgil who killed him."

Her big brother blinked.

"Virgil?"

"No one other than us witnessed what happened. My guess is that they took the obvious route."

Scott did not like the implications at all. His lips thinned and his eyes chilled. "Can we expect retaliation?"

She shrugged. "I doubt it. My uncle wasn't one for grooming his minions. There was no sign of anyone who be able to retaliate. I would like to go back in and make sure there is no chance of it, if I can."

As expected, her brother immediately shook his head. "No. We advise the GDF and Colonel Casey can follow it up." His eyes lit up just that little bit more. "You are needed here."

And she was.

Her eyes dropped to the floor. "How is he?"

"Asking for you."

She knew he was.

A hand landed softly on her shoulder. "Kayo, I don't know what happened between the two of you, and really it is none of my business, but..." She looked up to see him chewing on his lip. "Little Sis, he loves you so much."

"I know."

"Please go and see him."

She hesitated. "I'm sorry, Scott. I-" But her explanation petered out. How? She closed her eyes. "He's making a mistake."

"What?"

"He could do so much better." She could barely hear herself, but he did anyway.

"Kayo, what the hell are you talking about?"

She looked up and was surprised to find anger in his blue eyes. "What can I offer him, Scott? I have nothing."

Scott opened his mouth, but for a moment nothing came out. A swallow and he cleared his throat. "Kayo, he doesn't want anything, he just wants you."

She stared at him. "Why?"

And now he was staring at her as if she had lost her sanity. "You are a stunning, smart and accomplished woman, Kayo. What else could he possibly want?"

"I-"

But anger flared in those blue eyes. "No, Kayo, no doubt. If you think we would trust International Rescue, a Thunderbird, to anyone we did not admire and respect for who she is and the choices she has made in her life, it is you who is sorely mistaken. You are an extremely valued member of our team, you're our sister, a Tracy in all but name. My brother could not make a better choice." A flash. "And trust me, I would intervene if it was otherwise." Suddenly he was not only Scott, her brother, he was the commander of International Rescue, substitute father figure, big brother and Virgil's best friend all rolled into one.

It was the same fire she had seen in Virgil's eyes as he had untied her.

She didn't have words, so she just nodded.

Scott deflated a little. "Kayo, he won't hurt you. And if he does, I'll hurt him myself, you know that." He squeezed her shoulder. "Please give him a chance."

She nodded wordlessly again and he let go. A blink cleared her vision as she fought for control.

"You okay?"

She shook her head.

"Come here." And he was wrapping his arms around her. Scott, big brother. She clenched her eyes shut. This was so stupid.

But she clung anyway.

-o-o-o-

Virgil got what he wanted by the end of the week by dragging himself out of bed and collapsing in the hallway outside his room.

It was Kayo who found him, half conscious, struggling to stand up again, blood dripping from his hand where he had ripped out his IV.

"Kay?!" He grabbed her arm in an almost painful grip. "Need to get you home."

His brown eyes were glazed and unfocused, the painkillers obviously having their usual effect on the ill engineer. He had always been sensitive, usually they sent him a little loopy, much to his brothers', particularly Gordon's, amusement. But the man was obviously very focussed on his worries this time. The fear in his eyes broke her heart.

"Okay, Virgil, we will go home."

By the time the nurses reached them, followed by a worried Scott, Virgil was asleep on her shoulder.

They took him home the next day.

-o-o-o-


	6. Epilogue: For a Smile

Title: Love and Sacrifice

Epilogue: For a Smile.

Warm Rain Series

Author: Gumnut

Oct – Dec 2018

Fandom: Thunderbirds Are Go 2015/ Thunderbirds TOS

Rating: Teen

Summary: When she is worth everything.

Word count: 1252

Spoilers & warnings: Virgil/Kayo

Timeline: After 'Sharing the Scenery' and the events of 'Road Rash'.

Author's note: And here is finally the story of the scar Virgil has on his back mentioned in the first fic of this series and so uproarishly demanded by you wonderful people. I hope it meets expectations. Also, pieces of this fic have been posted all over the place in the last couple of months as I have been slowly piecing it all together, so apologies if you have read some of it before or it seems familiar as I've re-written sections.

Author's note: Disclaimer: Mine? You've got to be kidding. Money? Don't have any, don't bother.

-o-o-o-

She had left him alone for only a minute. With his brothers all out on a mission, Kayo had taken on the responsibility of making sure Virgil had everything he needed and was comfortable.

So far that had consisted of simply sitting with him and talking. Their conversation had been minimal. He was still hiked up on the good stuff. And if it wasn't for the circumstances, she would have found him amusing.

As it was, he had asked her several times if she was feeling okay. Who was looking after who?

Typical Virgil.

She wanted to hit him.

And kiss him.

Unable to do either, she had left him for a few moments to grab a drink of water and straighten out her thoughts.

When she got back, he was gone.

She stood there a moment, stunned. The man had two bullet holes in his back and he was drugged up to the gills, where the hell could he go?

As if to answer her question, the piano started playing.

Oh, for the love of-

She hurried down to the comms room and sure enough, he was sitting hunched over at the piano, desperately attempting to play it with one hand while the other was wrapped around his belly as if he was trying to hold his insides in.

"What do you think you are doing?"

He looked up at her sideways a smile on his face. "I am going to make you happy, Kayo."

"You're what?"

"I want you to be happy."

"What makes you think I'm not happy?"

"Because you are sad." And with that, he straightened up with a soft groan, bringing his other hand down to the keys, and began to play.

And sing.

Virgil Tracy, injured and high as a kite on medication, singing.

To her.

His voice was as resonant as always. She had always loved his voice, whether in song or simply speaking her name.

She found herself sitting on a couch, not knowing how she got there.

He stopped singing, but continued to play, his fingers adding secondary melodies to the already beautiful tune. But then he missed a key, and another and then he was leaning over the piano groaning.

Oh god. "Virgil?" And she was beside him. "You idiot." She held him gently, hesitant to touch him at all. The man was lucky he was still alive and here he was playing the stupid piano. "What the hell are you doing out here?"

"Want-wanted to make you smile. You always smile when I sing."

Her stomach twisted. "Well, if you injure yourself further, all you will see from me is tears, you big idiot."

He turned towards her, distress plain on his face, only to have it replaced with a grimace as the movement pulled everything. He groaned again.

"C'mon, we need to get you back to bed." If he collapsed out here, she didn't have a hope. She was strong, but Virgil was the biggest of her brothers and the laws of physics declared that there was no way in hell she could lift him. And certainly not without aggravating his injuries.

"Okay." It was one word, but it portrayed all his vulnerability.

She slid herself under his side with the uninjured shoulder. Unfortunately that side bore the other bullet wound in his lower back, so it was technically a Catch-22 no matter which side of his body she attempted to support. He leant what he could on her and they made a snail's pace progress back to the infirmary.

By the time they reached it, he was trembling.

"Nearly there." He was leaning so heavily on her, it had to hurt him. There were suddenly tears in her eyes.

She lowered him gently onto the edge of the bed, his breath harsh in her ears. She helped him lie down, doing her best to ignore his pain.

By the time he was settled, a tear was falling.

"Kay?" There was worry on his face. He reached up a hand and touched her cheek.

She leant against the bed. "Why, Virgil? Why do you do this to yourself?"

His wide brown eyes stared up at her as if the answer was obvious. "Because I love you."

Her eyes closed, flushing out yet another tear.

"Please don't cry. I don't want you to cry."

It only made her cry harder.

And he was reaching for her. The man could hardly move and he was reaching out his arms trying to draw her to him. To comfort her.

He was goddamn unbelievable.

But she went to him, her head falling to his undamaged shoulder, her tears staining his pyjamas as his hand ran through her hair. He was muttering apologies, his distress obvious. This wasn't right.

She said the first thing that came to her mind. The first truth. "I don't deserve you." She drew in a wet breath. "You are just too…good. Too perfect." She bit her lip, fresh tears welling. How could he possibly…

He kissed her hair.

She pulled back so she could see his face. His eyes stared up at her, worry in their depths…and love. There was no way she could deny it.

And she was kissing him. It was desperate, vulnerable and not without fear, but then he was kissing her back and his arms were around her and…oh god, she loved him so much.

She had to breathe, and that was the only reason she pulled back. She gasped in oxygen and it hit the back of her throat. His lips were still slightly parted and she found herself reaching out to touch their softness, her finger running across his bottom lip.

He kissed her finger, his eyes not once leaving hers.

And just as another tear made its way down her cheek, a smile slowly crept onto her face, her mouth curving up slowly.

His voice was breathless. "Now that is what I wanted to see." And he smiled softly back up at her.

A sob or a laugh, she didn't know which. "How can you possibly be real?"

His smile slid to one side. "I've often wondered that about you."

"Oh god." And she let her head drop to his shoulder again. "I can't believe you."

His hand was once again in her hair, his fingers gently catching strands. "Why not?"

"You're just so…you."

He snorted, his chest jolting slightly with the movement. She didn't miss him tensing as a result.

Who was looking after who?

She pulled away gently. "You need to rest."

His hand caught her arm. "Stay. Please?"

Those same brown, puppy dog eyes that had her sneaking into the kitchen to steal sweets for him when he was twelve.

Damn.

Wiping her face with her hand, she grabbed a chair and planted it next to his bed. "Okay. But only if you rest." She sat down.

He reached out and grabbed her hand, drawing it towards himself. "Thank you."

That smile crept slowly back onto her face, and she reached out her other hand to brush his hair out of his eyes. "Rest, Virgil."

"Yes, ma'am." And he closed his eyes.

As he drifted off to sleep, her smile got wider.

He truly was beautiful. More than she could ever…ever have hoped for.

-o-o-o-

Hidden in the shadows of the doorway, Sally Tracy wiped her own silent tears off her cheeks and dared to smile, too.

-o-o-o-

FIN


End file.
